A Flea in Her Ear
Play Description
This classic French farce was written in 1907. It is, perhaps, Feydeau’s best known play, and its intricate choreography draws together two classic farce plots — that of the suspicious wife who sets a trap to expose her faithless partner, and the venerable comic device of mistaken identity.
Production Info
Cast: 14 total (5 female, 9 male)Full Length Comedy (about 200 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Period Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
Press Quotes
“Where does one begin in praising Feydeau? Perhaps with the thrift and beauty of his plotting. The action is propelled by the wrongful belief of the wife of Monsieur Chandebise that he is having an affair. So she lays a trap by getting an old school friend to write a letter tempting Chandebise to a rendezvous at the Hotel Coq d’Or. Unfortunately Chandebise shows it to the friend’s husband, a manic Spaniard who recognises his wife’s writing. From that simple device Feydeau contrives a riotous second act in which the couples, plus the Chandebise household, converge on the seedy hotel … This not only provokes escalating misunderstandings but gives the lead actor a chance to play dual roles … The result is a heartlessly funny evening of whirlwind insanity …” —Michael Billington, The Guardian (London)
Author(s)
Georges FeydeauGeorges Feydeau was born in Paris on December 8, 1862, the son of novelist Ernest-Aimé Feydeau and a Polish woman. He found his first success at the age of twenty-four with TAILLEUR POUR DAMES (LADIES' DRESSMAKER, 1889). That same year Feydeau married Marianne Carolus-Duran, the daughter of the famous portrait painter Carolus-Duran. To Feydeau, the marriage brought wealth that would sustain him until he found greater success. The marriage lasted fifteen years, after which the couple underwent a judicial separation and were formally divorced in 1916. Feydeau began a study of great farces in 1890, studying the works of Eugène Labiche, Henri Meilhac, and Alfred Hennequin. This study brought him success with his play CHAMPIGNOL MALGRÉ LUI (CHAMPIGNOL IN SPITE OF HIMSELF, 1892). Following this, Feydeau made a name for himself both in France and abroad. Among his sixty plays are his famous UNE PUCE À L'ORIELLE (A FLEA IN HER EAR, 1907), LA DAME DE CHEZ MAXIM (THE GIRL FROM MAXIM'S, 1899), and HORTENSE A DIT: "J'M'EN FOUS!" (HORTENSE SAYS, "I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!," 1916). Other notable Feydeau farces are L'HÔTEL DU LIBRE ÉCHANGE (translated as HOTEL PARADISO, 1894) and LE DINDON (SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE, 1896). During the winter of 1918 Feydeau contracted syphilis and slowly descended into madness in the remaining years of his life. He passed away on June 5, 1921.
Kenneth McLeishKenneth McLeish (1940 – 1997) studied Classics and Music at Worcester College, Oxford. After starting as a schoolteacher, he became a full-time translator, author, and dramatist, and in time the most widely respected and prolific translator of drama in Britain. His output included all 47 of the surviving classical Greek plays, most of Ibsen and Feydeau, as well as individual plays by Plautus, Molière, Jarry, Strindberg, Horvath, and Labiche. His original plays and translations have been widely performed, most notably by England's National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Book Information
| Publisher | Nick Hern Books |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 6/1/2001 |
| Pages | 160 |
| ISBN | 9781854594402 |
Special Notes
If original stage producers credits appear in bold below, all licensees are required to include them in the following form on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all advertising in which the full cast appears in size of type not less than ten percent (10%) of the size of the title of the Play:
In addition, the following must appear within all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play:
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
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